Lebanon: Who Killed Intelligence Chief Wissam Al Hassan?

Syria, Iran, Hizbullah and Israel are all suspects in the death of Lebanon's chief intelligence chief Wissam Al Hassan, who was killed in a bomb explosion[1], which claimed the lives of eight people and wounded around 80 people, in Beirut yesterday [Oct 20].

Joyce Karam sums up the mood after the explosion:

@Joyce_Karam[2]: Undoubtedly this is the worse day in #Lebanon since 14 Feb 2005 and 2006 war. Given regional + internal fragility,things can turn ugly.

She adds:

@Joyce_Karam[3]: If there is any right time for a national unity government for #Lebanon, it is now. Highest risk for instability since 2005.

But as the tension[4] in Lebanon rises, so do the fingers pointing the blame at – almost everyone.

When it comes to the Middle East, the lack of transparency and accountability make it difficult to stay calm and rational and draw reasonable conclusions. In fact, political assassination in my part of the world is the fastest, easy way to settle the score and to create a foggy environment where the truth is deemed impossible to find. Nonetheless, I find it amusing that those whom in the past accused Al-Hassan of being an Israeli agent are now accusing Israel of standing behind his murder.

She then discusses possible scenarios of who could have pulled the assassination – and why.

[6]

An empty street in Beirut shared on Twitter by Yasim Comert

Yesim Comert shares this photograph of an empty Beirut street on Twitter. She writes: